Forests of Ukraine continue to illegally destroy ancient trees – ecoactivists

Forests of Ukraine continue to illegally destroy ancient trees – ecoactivists shutterstock
Katerina Belousova

Only 8.5% of the ancient forests of Ukraine are under protection

Eco-activists from the "Ukrainian Nature Protection Group" accused the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" of continuing the illegal destruction of ancient forests during sanitary felling.

They also accused the state of ignoring such logging and the need to preserve ancient forests, the community's Facebook page says.

"Even during the war, the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" continues to illegally destroy ancient forests and threaten ecological security," said biologist Yehor Hrynyk.

Eco-activists emphasized that only about 8.5% of Ukraine's ancient forests are under real protection. The rest is under threat of legal and illegal logging.

They urged the state to take the remains of ancient forests under strict protection as soon as possible.

Eco-activists added that the 120-year-old fir tree in the Vygoda forest farm in the Carpathians, near which the video was filmed in the summer, was most likely already cut down during illegal sanitary felling, like many others.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in the Carpathians 426 thousand hectares of European spruce are drying up, a third of which is in the Transcarpathian region.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, in Odesa, the director of the forest farm was informed of suspicion of exceeding his official powers regarding issuing logging tickets on the territory of the Severyniv Forestry, which is part of the Kuyalnytskyi National Nature Park. The state-owned enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" stated that forestry was not informed that this territory became part of the national park.

Related
Environmental crimes of the week: pollution worth 70 million UAH, compensation for damages, and deforestation
Environmental crimes of the week: pollution worth 70 million UAH, compensation for damages, and deforestation

Prosecutors are also continuing to return illegally seized forest and water lands to the state

New forests in areas where they could be destroyed by war: millions spent on trees in Donetsk Oblast
New forests in areas where they could be destroyed by war: millions spent on trees in Donetsk Oblast

As it turns out, the recovery and budget reporting programs have not existed for over four years

Farmers are burning grass in the fields, and forests are burning. Why are foresters stepping up fire prevention measures?
Farmers are burning grass in the fields, and forests are burning. Why are foresters stepping up fire prevention measures?

Forest rangers are forced to extinguish fires in the fields to prevent the flames from reaching the trees

The crisis in Ukraine's water sector: Experts stress the need for reforms
The crisis in Ukraine's water sector: Experts stress the need for reforms

Environmentalists are calling for the creation of a single agency to oversee water management